Glimpses of paradise
For Tim Laman, mornings in the rain forest started early, before the night was truly done. Laman, an affiliate of the Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, typically woke well before dawn to search the tropical forests of Papua New Guinea, Indonesia, and Australia for some of the world’s most spectacular creatures: birds of paradise. During 18 expeditions over eight years, he rose in the dark, hiked in the dark, and even climbed trees in the dark, all in order to get in place before the birds started the elaborate courtship displays for which they are famous. Photographer Tim Laman and a colleague set out to document all 39 birds-of-paradise species. Their work resulted in a book published by National Geographic. A link at the bottom of the story provides a time-lapse video of Laman unpacking the immense amount of equipment necessary to complete his work. Laman, who received a doctorate in biology...